Letting Go
The month of September is a powerful transition, from the radiant energies of summer to the releasing energies of fall. This surrender without submission allows us to trust fall into the arms of grace, fully nourished by the abundance of summer and the slowing down, anchoring in, and letting go into autumn.
The practice of yoga teaches us to loosen our tightened grip and embrace the ebb and flow of the seasons in the ever-changing currents of life. These transitional times of the year are portals into the deeper essence of ourselves and the intimate connection to the pulsation of nature—the rhythms of the earth and the vibrations of the universe. We create rituals during these pivotal times: a sacred power of manifestation that unravels from the center of our hearts with intention and presses back out into the world with action. These gestation periods enable us to go inside to unearth, excavate and release that which is no longer serving us and let go of the habits and patterns in life that are not reaching for our highest good.
By tapping into the more subtle aspects of our daily lives, we can balance both the shadow and light of our inner and outer worlds. The equinox means “equal night,” where the light and darkness commingle in the concealment and revelation of our wildest dreams and deepest passions. We must place ourselves in the potent learning process of change and understand the choices that we must make to grow and flourish in the beauty of togetherness. These refining and enhancing qualities of release enable us to turn toward the darkness to see a more illuminated light from the depths of our being and the troubled world around us that is still full of beauty.
During this time of maturation we begin to shed the hindering or unhealthy characteristics of ourselves that hold us back from creatively expressing our highest potential and make space for the renewal of our revitalized spirit that pours through our veins and calls us to create with passion. We celebrate the fullness, abundance and joys of summer that prepare us to go inward from fall to winter with the hope that this transition may be smooth and easeful, and oftentimes, rich with deep personal reflection and contemplation. These pivotal times can feel like a dying off process that can be difficult and challenging, but are the important checkpoints to balance the energies of both the physical and subtle influences that call upon our thoughts, feelings and emotions that arouse the sense of awe and wonder in life.
We must transfer practices of coping and surviving into rituals of thriving and flourishing—on and off the mat. Little by little, bit by bit, again and again, we begin to follow the stacking layers of the moon to reach for our personal fulfillment in life only to give it all back in selfless service to the world. We polish our inward intentions with the breath and make them external offerings to the world that needs you now more than ever. Go inside, scour the inner landscapes of your mind, reach into the creases and crevasses of your heart and learn to let go. With both effort and grace we accept that the practice of yoga is the midline between our breakdown and breakthrough just like the autumnal equinox of equal light and darkness.